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Most Forged Autographs Belong To Elvis, The Beatles

Do you have Elvis Presley’s autograph? Well, maybe you do and maybe you don’t. The king of Rock Roll topped this year’s list of the most forged autographs.

According to PSA/DNA Authentication Services, there’s less than a 50 percent chance that an Elvis Presley, The Beatles, or Babe Ruth autograph sold this year on the market place is authentic. PSA/DNA also said that forged Neil Armstrong autograph’s were on the rise this year.

“Whether it’s the signature of a famous sports hero, an entertainment star or an important historical figure, it’s important that consumers buy from reputable sellers who use credible, expert third-party authentication … There are a lot so-called ‘deals’ for autographs that can be found online, at local flea markets and even at some collectibles conventions, but most of those ‘deals’ are simply too good to be true. Genuine autographs do not often sell for a huge discounts.”

Orlando said that autograph collectors from around the world send their memorabilia to PSA/DNA to get authenticated. This year, the company examined over 350,000 autographs and found that the majority of them were frauds.

Orlando said:

“Unfortunately, a large portion of them were forgeries. In fact, it’s not uncommon for our experts to reject 50 percent or more of the signatures submitted to our company, especially when it comes to the more prominent names.”

Here are the five most forged autographs of 2012 from the world of sports:

Babe Ruth

Lou Gehrig

Mickey Mantle

Michael Jordan

Muhammad Ali

Kobe Bryant

Tiger Woods

Derek Jeter

Albert Pujols

Ted Williams

Here are the 10 most forged entertainment and historic autographs:

Elvis Presley

The Beatles

Neil Armstrong

John F. Kennedy

Michael Jackson

Marylin Monroe

Jim Morrison

Jimi Hendrix

Walt Disney

Judy Garland

Orlando said that over 50 percent of the autographs examined by PSA/DNA turned out to be forgeries, but the number could actually be much higher since obvious forgeries are not sent to the company.

Orlando said:

“What is most startling about the number of fake autographs in the marketplace is that PSA/DNA does not often receive obvious forgeries for evaluation. So, if our rejection rate for a particular autograph approaches 50 percent, then you can only imagine how high that percentage of forgeries actually might be in the overall marketplace.”